London School Board election, 1876
The third election to the School Board for London was held on Thursday, 30 November 1876. The electorate included all ratepayers, including women, who were entitled to vote in vestry elections, and women could also be members. The "Metropolis" or area of the Metropolitan Board of Works was divided into ten divisions for the election of school board members: each division returned between four and seven members depending on population. The old board had 49 seats, the new board had 50. Due to an increase in population in south London, the representation of Lambeth Division was increased from 5 to 6 members. On the outgoing board there was 1 vacancy and 19 of the 48 sitting members did not seek re-election. Each voter had a number of votes equal to the number of seats in the division. The voter was free to allocate the votes between the candidates in any way they wished. Where an elector gave all of his votes to a single candidate this was known as "plumping", and was seen as a way of ensuring representation of minority religious denominations. Voting was by secret ballot, with the exception of the City of London, where open voting was used. Politics By the time of the third election, the board was largely split into two parties. On one side was the School Board Party, supporters of the "Compromise of 1871" whereby new schools built by the board were non-denominational. Religious education included study of the bible, but in a manner that would allow children of all Christian denominations to attend classes. Allied to these were "Working Men's" and "Non-Conformist" candidates. In opposition were the Voluntary Schools candidates who sought to promote denominational schools. Prior to the formation of the board the few elementary schools that had existed belonged for the most part to various church organisations. A "Church Party", consisting of prominent Church of England clergyman and laymen sought to end the building of board schools on the grounds that it was a waste of ratepayer's money. Voluntary schools were also supported by the Roman Catholic Church, and a formal committee was formed to nominate candidates in each division. In general the Voluntary Schools candidates received the support of the Conservative Party organisation, while the "School Board" faction were aligned with the Liberal Party. There were also some independent candidates. Results Successful candidates are shown in bold type. Members of the outgoing board have an asterisk next to their name. The "School Board" candidates increased their majority on the board, with 30 of the 50 seats. City of London (4 members) School Board Party gained 1 from Voluntary Schools Party Chelsea (4 members) School Board Party gained 1 from Voluntary Schools Party Finsbury (6 members) Greenwich (4 members) Hackney (5 members) Lambeth (increased from 5 to 6 members) Stiff, Murphy and Kemp-Welch issued a joint address. Marylebone (7 members) Southwark (4 members) Tower Hamlets (5 members) Westminster (5 members) The School Board Party gained one seat from the Voluntary Schools Party. Co-options to 1879 The school board elected in 1876 had a three-year term of office. Under the terms of Section 44 of the Elementary Education Act 1876 casual vacancies occurring in the membership of school boards due to death or resignation were no longer filled by by-elections but by co-option. Where a vacancy occurred the sitting members nominated a candidate or candidates. Where there was only one nomination, they were automatically co-opted. Where there was more than one candidate, the vacancy was filled by a vote of the entire board. There was only one casual vacancy requiring co-option during the term of the third London School Board. Westminster (24 October 1877) Death of Seymour 4 August 1877. Unfilled vacancies At the time of the dissolution of the board in October 1879 there were two unfilled casual vacancies: *At Hackney, Richard Foster resigned his seat on 23 April 1879. *At Westminster, the seat held by George Potter was declared vacant in May 1879. This followed his bankruptcy in March of the same year. No attempt was made to fill the vacancies prior to the next general election of the school board in November 1879. References Category:Elections